Ivan Leban

Ivan Leban (1927), a man with three names

Memories of being interned in Cairo Montenotte, Mauthausen and Gusen Concentration Camps, and of forced labour on a farm

Arrest

During the first half of 1943, Ivan Leban was twice arrested in his native village of Zatolmin (Slovenia). The Squadristi, The Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (Voluntary Militia for National Security), commonly called the Blackshirts (Italian: Camicie Nere), took him, along with other family members and villagers, to the Coroneo prison in Trieste. At the time he was 15-years old.

“They took several families from Zatolmin and Tolmin. There were guards everywhere, no one could escape from the village. When we were gathered together - they had a list of families to arrest - they transferred us to Poljubinj. From there we travelled to Trieste by train,” Mr. Leban said, recalling the past.

The arrest was part of acts of repression carried out by the all-volunteer militia of the Kingdom of Italy in ethnically Slovene territories under Italian rule.

Along with Mr. Leban the squadristi arrested his father and mother, his sister and aunt. “Can you imagine what a 15-year-old child is thinking? Nothing. You go to wherever they take you.”

He doesn’t remember if he was taken twice or three times to be interrogated at the questura (police headquarters). ”They were asking if I was linked to the partisans. Which villagers had a link with them? If they were taking them food. I was beaten during the interrogation.”

His brother joined the Slovene partisans, the armed wing of the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation (Slovene: Osvobodilna fronta slovenskega naroda), or simply the Liberation Front (Osvobodilna fronta, acronym OF). As a consequence, collaboration with the “ribelli” (rebels) put his family on the squadristi's list. OF was the main anti-fascist Slovene civil resistance and political organization. In 1943 the national liberation movement in the Primorska region (Littoral Region), where Mr. Leban’s family lived, was rapidly gaining in strength and unity.The fascist regime retaliated with acts of violence, imprisonment and deportation.

It was after the collapse of the fascist regime in July 1943 and the fall of ambitious dictator Benito Mussolini, that Mr. Leban was deported to Cairo Montenotte concentration camp along with many other Slovene nationals from the Littoral Region.

“They called my name: Leban Giovanni. I went into the courtyard. Others were already there. The whole trainload went to Cairo Montenotte.”

• Do you remember your thoughts at that moment?

“I didn’t think at all. They took me outside. Men were saying different things about where we were going but they didn’t really know.”

Cairo Montenotte Concentration Camp for Civilians

He was deported by train from Trieste to Cairo Montenotte Concentration Camp for Civilians. It was Summer. There were not many barracks in the concentration camp Mr. Leban recalled. “I wasn’t frightened. I was hungry. We had three meals a day. No solid food. Mostly liquids.”

His father, Jože (italianized Giuseppe) Leban, was there too. He had arrived earlier in the Summer. For no specific reason they were not much in contact.

When the Cassibile Armistice was made public on 8 September 1943 and Italy surrendered to the Allies, the German army took over the concentration camp. “Before that day there were four guards at the camp gate. Then their number increased and they were guarding and shooting. You couldn’t leave.”

Mauthausen and Gusen Concentration Camps

“They [the Germans] had a list and called us one by one and put us on a train.” Again Mr. Leban didn't know where he was being taken. “I learned that we were going to work in Germany. I didn’t know what kind of work we would be assigned to.” According to his memory all the internees left on this train. “I was among the youngest. The guards were laughing at us. Look, children ... And they were going to the lager in Germany. I had no clue what was going on. What was I thinking about at the time? About home.”

He remembered that he left a locked and windowless cattle wagon at Mauthausen. “There it was really bad for us children. We undressed and went to the bathroom, a large bathroom. You were a child and they were looking at you.”

According to a monograph written by France Filipič, he was in a Mauthausen concentration camp and its large subsidiary camp Gusen in Upper Austria from 25.11.1943 to the end of January 1943. Mr. Leban is not sure about the dates and he doesn’t remember the length of his internment.

It is more than 70 years ago that Mr. Leban spent a few months of his adolescence in concentration camps. He speaks about it in short sentences and recalls just a few memories, enough to give a listener a sense of the terror he experienced:

• “Guards welcomed us. Arriving at Mauthausen they shot one of us immediately on the way to the concentration camp. A man wanted to drink water from the drainage ditch at the side of the path we were walking on.”

• “On arriving at the camp we undressed, then went to the bathroom where they shaved us. They shaved us everywhere!”

• “As adolescents in Gusen lager we saw a dead man here and a dead man there. At the beginning we didn't touch them. Later that changed.”

• “We were sleeping in two in a single bed. The one who accidentally fell out of bed was taken away. They hit you badly with a truncheon and dragged you outside. You were taken away.”

Forced labour on a farm

Because of their age, the youngest internees didn’t work in the concentration camp. They were ordered to spend time outside the barracks. They used to chat, Mr. Leban remembers. One day the German guards lined them up. ”I don’t remember if there were 20 (twenty) of us. One part was assigned to the digging of ditches, another part as workers on farms.” A guard escorted Mr. Leban to a farmer named Josef Pantguber, according to Mr. Leban. “He tested me to see if I was any good at handling a scythe.”

Once on the farm there was enough to eat. “He was a good master.” Mr.Leban was living on a farm as part of the family. He remembers receiving clogs from the master for St. Nicholas’ Day. “I was so happy. I only had the shoes from the time I was arrested. They were tight and worn so I was barefoot.”

Mr. Leban was the only foreigner on the farm. “For them I was Italian as it was written in my documents. But I was Slovene.” Border changes in 20th century Europe had resulted in Mr. Leban having three names: Ivan, Giuseppe and Johan. The first is his given name in his mother tongue, which is Slovene, the second is his given name italianized, while the last is a German- sounding name he chose to adopt whilst working as a forced labourer on a farm under German rule.

As a forced labourer on a farm where cattle were tended and wheat and potatoes were grown he didn’t receive any payment. He was given a loaf of bread as he was leaving the farm in Spring of 1945. At that time WW2 was coming to an end in Europe.

What to pay respects to and what to rememberAs a forced labourer he describes his experience as good. In the post war period he visited the farm three times. “The first time I went on a motorbike,” Mr. Leban told us. The farm was located close to Linz. Unfortunately, from Mr. Leban's description it was not possible to locate it geographically.

I couldn’t conclude the interview without asking him about his father’s internment experience. “I didn’t see him until 1947. I then learned he had been working in the quarry attached to the camp. I have been told that back home he weighed 36 kilos. His experience was bad.”

What should be respected and what should be remembered

•What do you want us to remember about your internment?

“I think that few people are interested in our experience, especially not young people. I have been also told that it wasn’t true what we lived through. There was disbelief as to how much I suffered as a young man. If you lived through it, you don’t forget. Ever. It stays forever.”

He looked at me, took a short breath and added: “I would rather have stayed at home and got some education.”

Sasa Petejan (2017)

THE menu

AEL ArbeitserziehungslagerThe workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.

Bau-und Arbeits Battallion B.A.B.During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.

I.G. FarbenThe I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.

Kriegsgefangenen ArbeitskommandoThe Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.

Ispettorato Militare del Lavoro (Military Work Inspectorate)The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.

Todt OrganisationThe Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.

Paladino FrancescoBorn in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain. Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.He died in 1974.

Sauckel Fritz

Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.

Speer Albert Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.

StalagA German prisoner of war camp. The living conditions in the Stalag varied considerably according to the nationality of the prisoners (Allied, Russian, Italian military internees, etc.)

Todt FritzFritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.

GemeinschaftslagerThe Gemeinschaftslager, like the Wohnlager, were unsupervised camps for foreign workers, while the Arbeitslager were supervised. Generally speaking, the concept of forced labour is applied only to the latter, but at the present time historians are undoubtedly tending to review the concept of forced labour, extending it to include work situations which are apparently free but in reality are forced. More specifically, the current discussion tends to be orientated towards a concept of forced labour which includes these three distinctive elements:- from a legal point of view, it is impossible for the worker to dissolve the relationship with his employer- from the social point of view, the possibilities of significantly influencing employment conditions are limited- there is a high mortality rate, which indicates a higher than average workload and a provision of means of sustenance below the necessary requirements.See: [https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/geschichte/auslaendisch/begriffe/index.html]

AEL ArbeitserziehungslagerThe workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.

Bau-und Arbeits Battallion B.A.B.During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.

I.G. FarbenThe I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.

Kriegsgefangenen ArbeitskommandoThe Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.

Ispettorato Militare del Lavoro (Military Work Inspectorate)The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.

Todt OrganisationThe Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.

Paladino FrancescoBorn in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain. Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.He died in 1974.

Sauckel Fritz

Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.

Speer Albert Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.

StalagA German prisoner of war camp. The living conditions in the Stalag varied considerably according to the nationality of the prisoners (Allied, Russian, Italian military internees, etc.)

Todt FritzFritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.

GemeinschaftslagerThe Gemeinschaftslager, like the Wohnlager, were unsupervised camps for foreign workers, while the Arbeitslager were supervised. Generally speaking, the concept of forced labour is applied only to the latter, but at the present time historians are undoubtedly tending to review the concept of forced labour, extending it to include work situations which are apparently free but in reality are forced. More specifically, the current discussion tends to be orientated towards a concept of forced labour which includes these three distinctive elements:- from a legal point of view, it is impossible for the worker to dissolve the relationship with his employer- from the social point of view, the possibilities of significantly influencing employment conditions are limited- there is a high mortality rate, which indicates a higher than average workload and a provision of means of sustenance below the necessary requirements.See: [https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/geschichte/auslaendisch/begriffe/index.html]

AEL ArbeitserziehungslagerThe workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.

Bau-und Arbeits Battallion B.A.B.During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.

I.G. FarbenThe I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.

Kriegsgefangenen ArbeitskommandoThe Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.

Ispettorato Militare del Lavoro (Military Work Inspectorate)The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.

Todt OrganisationThe Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.

Paladino FrancescoBorn in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain. Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.He died in 1974.

Sauckel Fritz

Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.

Speer Albert Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.

Todt FritzFritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.

AEL ArbeitserziehungslagerThe workers' re-education camps (AEL) were set up in 1940 by the Gestapo in order to re-educate individuals accused of acts of industrial sabotage or who, for some reason, were held to be “reluctant” to work. In effect, these camps were also a means of exploiting forced labour. It has been estimated that in Germany and the German-occupied territories around 200 Arbeitserziehungslager had been set up in which around 500,000 people had been imprisoned.

Bau-und Arbeits Battallion B.A.B.During the Second World War the Germans established prisoner of war units known as Bau-und Arbeits Battaillon (shortened to B.A.B.). The B.A.B. were made up on average of 600 prisoners of war who were used as forced labour. The distinguishing feature of these forced labour units was that they were mobile; unlike the prisoners who were being held in the Stalag, these workers were not stationed in a specific location but were moved around according to necessity.

I.G. FarbenThe I.G. Farben Company was founded in 1925 from the merger of several different German industries. During the Second World War it was the main producer of chemicals for Nazi Germany. I.G. Farben made more use of forced labour than any other industry, particularly during the construction of the plants at Auschwitz. The directors of I.G. Farben were among the accused at the Nuremberg Trials of 1947/48. At the end of the war the decision was taken to split up the industry into its original component parts.

Kriegsgefangenen ArbeitskommandoThe Arbeitskommando were work camps detachments for prisoners who had been captured by the Germans. Usually made up of a few hundred prisoners, they were set up near to places of employment (factories, mines, agricultural establishments etc.). They were run from a central Stalag (prisoner of war camp), which may have been responsible for hundreds of work detachments. The work detachments for Allied prisoners of war were visited on a regular basis by representatives of the Red Cross.

Ispettorato Militare del Lavoro (Military Work Inspectorate)The Military Work Inspectorate was set up in October 1943 with the aim of organising a workforce which was to construct territorial defences for the Italian Republic of Salò and repair the damage caused by air raids. Known as the “Organizzazione Paladino” (Paladino Organisation) after its founder and commanding officer, and operating in strict collaboration with, and at times directly employed by, the Germans, it took on several tens of thousands of workers.

Todt OrganisationThe Todt Organisation was begun in Germany at the end of the 'Thirties with the aim of setting up a workforce which would build military defences. The idea of Fritz Todd, who was also its director until his death in 1942, during the war it exploited forced labour in German-occupied countries. In Italy it played a fundamental role in the construction of defences along the Appenines in support of the Wehrmacht, employing tens of thousands of men.

Paladino FrancescoBorn in Scilla (Reggio Calabria) in 1890, he volunteered for the Corps of Engineers as a telegraphist in 1907. In 1908 he rose to the rank of sergeant, a rank he held throughout the War in Libya. In 1914 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and during the First World War he was made captain. Afterwards he remained in the Armed Forces and in 1932 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1936 he took part in the War in Ethiopia, during which he was promoted to the rank of colonel.In the Second World War, he returned to Italy after participating in the Greek campaign and was assigned to the Bolzano Corps. In 1942 he was promoted to brigader general. After the armistice he joined the Italian Social Republic for which he created the Military Labour Inspectorate.He finally retired in 1945 and in 1970 he was awarded the honorary grade of major general.He died in 1974.

Sauckel Fritz

Fritz Sauckel, born in 1894, was a local Nazi party official. In 1942 he was nominated plenipotentiary for the organisation of work throughout all the German-occupied territories. In practice, he was responsible for the compulsory engagement of forced labour. In Italy his organisation tried to round up hundreds of thousands of men to send to the German Reich, with scarce results. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to death, the sentence being carried out in 1946.

Speer Albert Albert Speer, born in 1905, was an architect who enjoyed an excellent personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. Even though he was not an ardent Nazi, he was the brains behind the staging of the Party parades, thereby assuring for himself the esteem and trust of the dictator. In 1942, after the death of Fritz Todt, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, which oversaw the Todt organisation. He was tried at Nuremberg and condemned to twenty years imprisonment. He died in London in 1981.

Todt FritzFritz Todt was a German engineer who was responsible, in the 'Thirties, for building the motorway system as desired by Hitler. At the end of the 'Thirties he set up the Todt Organisation, with the aim of supplying forced labour to be used in the building of defences along the French border. During the war his organisation oversaw the use of forced labour in the occupied territories. He died in a plane crash in 1942.

Places associated with forced labour and deportation from Italy
during the Second World War

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